7<\/strong>. I will shake all nations<\/em> ] “There was a general shaking upon earth before our Lord came. Empires rose and fell. The Persian fell before Alexander’s; Alexander’s world-empire was ended by his sudden death in youth; of his four successors two only continued, and they, too, fell before the Romans; then were the Roman civil wars, until under Augustus, the temple of Janus was shut.” Pusey. The second and third of Daniel’s four great kingdoms, the Medo-Persian and the Grco-Macedonian, and (if with some we identify it with the successors of Alexander in Syria and Egypt) the fourth kingdom also, were to pass away before our Lord appeared. Dan 2:36-45<\/span>.<\/p>\n the desire of all nations shall come<\/em> ] Setting aside various other renderings of these words which have little to recommend them e.g. “I will shake all nations, and they (all nations) shall come with the desire (the desirable things) of all nations (in their hands as offerings);” or, “they shall come to the desire of all nations;” or yet again, “the choicest of nations, nobilissimi omnium populorum<\/em>, shall come,” and adhering to the rendering of the A. V., we have two principal interpretations to choose between. There is the view that Christ Himself is here spoken of as “the Desire of all nations” ( et veniet desideratus gentibus<\/em>, Vulgate), i.e. He for Whom all nations consciously or unconsciously yearn, in Whom alone all the longings of the human heart find satisfaction. Very beautiful, as well as very Christian, is the idea thus conveyed: Christ, “ the longed-for of the nations<\/em> before He came, by that mute longing of need for that which it wants as the parched ground thirsteth for the rain.” Archbishop Trench has worked it out in some particulars in a course of Hulsean lectures under the title, “Christ, the Desire of all nations, or the unconscious prophesyings of heathendom.” But interesting as is this view, and strong the temptation to maintain it at any cost, there are objections to it which cannot satisfactorily be overcome. The word “desire” is in the singular number, the verb “shall come” is in the plural. It is literally “the desire of all nations they shall come.” To the difficulty of understanding this of a person it does not seem a sufficient answer, to describe it as “the delicacy of the phrase, whereby manifoldness is combined in unity, the object of desire containing in itself many objects of desire;” as “a great heathen master of language said to his wife, ‘fare you well, my longings,’ i.e. she who manifoldly met the longings of his heart, and had in herself manifold gifts to content them [33] ” (Pusey). Still more difficult is it to make this view harmonise with the context. The following verse is, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts<\/em>. It is forced and unnatural to make these words mean, “I have no need of gold or silver. The whole wealth of the world is mine. I could adorn this house with silver and gold if I would; but such things are worthless in my sight. I will fill it with divine and spiritual glory instead.” Comp. Psa 50:10-12<\/span>.<\/p>\n [33] It has recently been pointed out by a writer in the Guardian<\/em> newspaper, that the words here quoted by Dr Pusey, “Valete, mea desideria, valete,” do not refer to his wife Terentia alone, but to his wife, son and daughter, to all three of whom the Epistle is addressed. A glance at the Epistle (xiv. 2) will suffice to shew that this is the case, and that consequently they have no bearing upon the passage under consideration.<\/p>\n We are led, therefore, to adopt another view, which has been accepted by some ancient and most modern commentators. According to it the passage may be paraphrased as follows: “I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations (the object of desire, that which each nation holds most desirable, its best and chiefest treasure, ‘the desirable things,’ R. V.) shall come (the plural verb denoting the manifoldness and variety of the gifts); and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts. However distributed, and by whomsoever possessed, the treasures of the whole world are still in my hand, and I can dispose and bestow them at my will. Doubt not, therefore, my promise that they shall be poured forth as willing offerings to beautify and adorn my house.” Thus understood, the prophecy agrees substantially with many other prophecies of the Old Testament. Thus Isaiah writes, “The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces (i.e. ‘resources’ or ‘wealth:’ it is as here a singular noun with a plural verb) of the Gentiles shall come unto thee:” and he adds in almost verbal accordance with this prophecy of Haggai, “they shall bring gold and incense,” and “I will glorify the house of my glory.” Isa 60:5-7<\/span>; Isa 60:11<\/span>; Isa 60:13<\/span>; Isa 60:17<\/span>. See also Isa 61:6<\/span>. Nor is the Messianic reference of the prophecy excluded or obscured by this interpretation. He who satisfies the desire of all nations will call forth and receive the willing offering to Himself of all they hold most desirable, in grateful acknowledgment of the satisfaction they find in Him. It was because the babe of Bethlehem was the desire of the Eastern sages that they first fell down and worshipped Him, and then opened their treasures and presented unto Him gold and frankincense and myrrh. Reaching on as we have seen to the consummation of all things, the prophecy includes all Christian gifts and offerings to the temple of God, material or spiritual, and will find its full accomplishment in that city of which it is written, “the kings and the nations of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it.” Rev 21:24<\/span>; Rev 21:26<\/span>. (See a letter on the interpretation of this passage by the late Bp. Thirlwall, Essays<\/em>, Appendix, p. 467.)<\/p>\n And the desire of all nations shall come – <\/B>The words can only mean this, the central longing of all nations <\/P> He whom they longed for, either through the knowledge of Him spread by the Jews in their dispersion, or mutely by the aching craving of the human heart, longing for the restoration from its decay. The earnest expectation of the creature did not begin with the Coming of Christ, nor was it limited to those, who actually came to Him Rom 8:19-22<\/span>. The whole creation, Paul saith, groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. It was enslaved, and the better self longed to be free; every motion of grace in the multitudinous heart of man was a longing for its Deliverer; every weariness of what it was, every fleeting vision of what was better, every sigh from out of its manifold ills, were notes of the one varied cry, Come and help us. Mans heart, formed in the image of God, could not but ache to be reformed by and for Him, though an unknown God, who should reform it.<\/P> This longing increased as the time drew near, when Christ should come. The Roman biographer attests the existence of this expectation, not among the Jews only, but in the East ; this was quickened doubtless among the pagan by the Jewish Sibylline book, in that, amid the expectations of one sent from heaven, who should found a kingdom of righteousness, which the writer drew from the Hebrew prophets, he inserted denunciations of temporal vengeance upon the Romans, which Easterns would share. Still, although written 170 years before our Lord came , it had not apparently much effect until the time, when, from the prophecies of Daniel it was clear, that He must shortly come . Yet the attempt of the Jewish and pagan historian to wrest it to Vespasian, shows how great must have been the influence of the expectation, which they attempted to turn aside.<\/P> The Jews, who rejected our Lord whom Haggai predicted, still were convinced that the prediction must be fulfilled before the destruction of the second temple. The impulse did not cease even after its destruction. R. Akiba, whom they accounted the first oracle of his time, the first and greatest guardian of the tradition and old law, of whom they said, that God revealed to him things unknown to Moses, was induced by this prophecy to acknowledge the impostor Bar-cochab, to the destruction of himself and of the most eminent of his time; fulfilling our Lords words Joh 5:43<\/span>, I am come in My fathers name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.<\/P> Akiba, following the traditional meaning of the great prophecy which rivetted his own eyes, paraphrased the words, Yet a little, a little of the kingdom, will I give to Israel upon the destruction of the first house, and after the kingdom, lo! I will shake heaven, and after that will come the Messiah.<\/P> Since the words can only mean the Desire of all nations, he or that which all nations long for, the construction of the words does not affect the meaning. Herod doubtless thought to advance his own claims on the Jewish people by his material adorning of the temple; yet, although mankind do covet gold and silver, few could seriously think that, while a pagan immoral but observant poet could speak of gold undiscovered and so better placed, or our own of the pale and common drudge Tween man and man, a Hebrew prophet could recognize gold and silver as the desire of all nations. Rabbi Akiba and Jeromes Jewish teachers, after our Lord came, felt no difficulty in understanding it of a person. We cannot in English express the delicacy of the phrase, whereby manifoldness is combined in unity, the Object of desire containing in itself many objects of desire.<\/P> To render the desire of all nations or the desires of all nations alike fail to do this. A great pagan master of language said to his wife, fare you well, my longings, i. e., I suppose, if he had analyzed his feelings, he meant that she manifoldly met the longings of his heart; she had in herself manifold gifts to content them. So Paul sums up all the truths and gifts of the Gospel, all which God shadowed out in the law and had given us in Christ, under the name of the good things to come. A pious modern writer speaks of the unseen desirables of the spiritual world. A psalmist expresses at once the collective, Gods Word and the words contained in it, by an idiom like Haggais, joining the feminine singular as a collective with the plural verb; How sweet are Thy word unto my taste, literally palate.<\/P> It is Gods word, at once collectively and individually, which was to the Psalmist so sweet. What was true of the whole, was true, one by one, of each part; what was true of each part, was true of the whole. So here, the object of this longing was manifold, but met in one, was concentrated in One, 1Co 1:30<\/span>. in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That which the whole world sighed and mourned for, knowingly or unknowingly, light to disperse its darkness, liberty from its spiritual slavery, restoration from its degradation, could not come to us without some one, who should impart it to us.<\/P> But if Jesus was the longed-for of the nations before He came, by that mute longing of need for that which it wants (as the parched ground thirsteth for the rain how much more afterward! So Micah and Isaiah describe many peoples inviting one another Mic 4:2<\/span>; Isa 2:3<\/span>. Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths. And in truth He became the desire of the nations, much more than of the Jews; as, Paul says, (Rom 10:19-20<\/span>; quoting Deu 32:21<\/span>. Isa 65:2<\/span>.) God foretold of old; Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are not a people: by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought Me not.<\/P> So until now and in eternity, Christ is the longing of all holy souls, who long for nothing else, than to please Him, daily to love Him more, to worship Him better. So John longed for Him; Come, Lord Jesus Rev 22:20<\/span>. So Isaiah Isa 26:8-9<\/span>, The desire of our soul is to Thy Name and to the remembrance of Thee: with my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me, will I seek Thee early. So Ignatius, Let fire, cross, troops of wild beasts, dissections, rendings, scattering of bones, mincing of limbs, grindings of the whole body, ill tortures of the devil come upon me, only may I gain Jesus Christ. – I seek Him Who for us died; I long for Him Who for us rose.<\/P> Hungerest thou and desirest food? Long for Jesus! He is the bread and refreshment of Angels. He is manna, containing in Him all sweetness and pleasurable delight. Thirstest thou? Long for Jesus! He is the well of living water, refreshing, so that thou shouldest thirst no more. Art thou sick? Go to Jesus. He is the Saviour, the physician, nay, salvation itself. Art thou dying? Sigh for Jesus! He is the resurrection and the life. Art thou perplexed? Come to Jesus! He is the Angel of great counsel. Art thou ignorant and erring? Ask Jesus; He is the way, the truth and the life. Art thou a sinner? Call on Jesus! For He shall save His people from their sins. To this end He came into the world: This is all His fruit, to take away sin. Art thou tempted by pride, gluttony, lust, sloth? Call on Jesus! He is humility, soberness, chastity, love, fervor: He bare our infirmities, and carried, yea still beareth and carrieth, our griefs.<\/P> Seekest thou beauty? He is fairer than the children of men. Seekest thou wealth? In Him are all treasures, yea in Him the fullness of the Godhead dwelleth. Art thou ambitious of honors? Glory and riches are in His house. He is the King of glory. Seekest thou a friend? He hath the greatest love for thee, who for love of thee came down from heaven, toiled, endured the Sweat of Blood, the Cross and Death; He prayed for thee by name in the garden, and poured forth tears of Blood! Seekest thou wisdom? He is the Eternal and Uncreated Wisdom of the Father! Wishest thou for consolation and joy? He is the sweetness of souls, the joy and jubilee of Angels. Wishest thou for righteousness and holiness? He is the Holy of holies; He is everlasting Righteousness, justifying and sanctifying all who believe and hope in Him. Wishest thou for a blissful life? He is life eternal, the bliss of the saints. Long then for Him, love Him, sigh for Him! In Him thou wilt find all good; out of Him, all evil, all misery. Say then with Francis, My Jesus, my love and my all! O Good Jesus, burst the cataract of Thy love, that its streams, yea seas, may flow down upon us, yea, inebriate and overwhelm us.<\/P> And I will fill this house with glory – <\/B>The glory then was not to be anything, which came from man, but directly from God. It was the received expression of Gods manifestation of Himself in the tabernacle Exo 40:34-35<\/span>. in Solomans temple, 1Ki 8:11<\/U><\/span>; 2Ch 5:14<\/span>; 2Ch 7:1-12<\/span>, and of the ideal temple Eze 43:5<\/span>; Eze 44:4<\/span>. which Ezekiel saw, after the likeness of that of Solomon, that the glory of the Lord filled the house. When then of this second temple God uses the self-same words, that He will fill it with glory, with what other glory should He fill it than His own? In the history it is said, the glory of the Lord filled the temple; for there man relates what God did. Here it is God Himself who speaks; so He says not, the glory of the Lord, but, I will fill the house with glory, glory which was His to give, which came from Himself. To interpret that glory of anything material, is to do violence to language, to force on words of Scripture an unworthy sense, which they refuse to bear.<\/P> The gold upon the walls, even had the second temple been adorned like the first did not fill the temple of Solomon. However richly any building might be overlaid with gold, no one could say that it is filled with it. A building is filled with what it contains; a mint or treasure-house may be filled with gold: the temple of God was filled, we are told, with the glory of the Lord. His creatures bring Him such things as they can offer; they bring Isa 60:6<\/span> gold and incense; they Psa 72:10<\/span> bring presents and offer gifts; they do it, moved by His Spirit, as acceptable to Him. God was never said to give these offerings to Himself.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 7. And the Desire of all nations shall come<\/B><\/I>] The present Hebrew text is as follows: . This is a difficult place if understood of a person<\/I>: but chemdath, desire<\/I>, cannot well agree with bau, they shall come<\/I>. It is true that some learned men suppose that chemdoth, desirable things<\/I>, may have been the original reading: but this is supported by no MS., nor is found in the singular<\/I> number in any. It is generally understood of the desirable<\/I> or valuable things<\/I> which the different nations should bring into the temple; and it is certain that many rich presents were brought into this temple. All are puzzled with it. But the principal difficulty lies in the verb ubau, they shall come<\/I>. If we found ubaa<\/I> chemdath<\/I> in the singular, then it would read as in our text, And<\/I> the Desire of all nations shall come<\/I>: but no such reading appears in any MS.; nor is it fairly<\/I> acknowledged, except by the Vulgate<\/I>, which reads, Et veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus, “And that which is desired,” or the desired Person, “shall come to all nations.” In Hag 2:7<\/span> God says he will shake<\/I> or stir up all nations<\/I>; that these nations shall bring their desirable things<\/I>; that the house shall be filled<\/I> with God’s glory<\/I>; that the silver<\/I> and gold<\/I>, which these nations are represented as bringing by way of gifts, are the Lord’s<\/I>; and that the glory of this latter house shall exceed the former. Bp. Chandler<\/I> labours to vindicate the present translation; but he makes rash assertions, and is abandoned by the Hebrew text. The ba, to come<\/I>, is often used in the sense of bring<\/I>, and that chemdath, desire<\/I>, may be considered as the plural<\/I> for , having the point holem<\/I> instead of the vau<\/I>, and thus mean desirable things<\/I>, will not be denied by those who are acquainted with the genius and construction of the Hebrew language. Bp. Chandler<\/I> thinks that , he came<\/I>, cannot be used of things<\/I>, but of persons<\/I> only. Here he is widely mistaken, for it is used of days<\/I> perpetually; and of the ark<\/I>, 2Sa 6:9<\/span>; and of mounts coming<\/I> against Jerusalem, Jer 32:24<\/span>; and of trees coming<\/I> to adorn the temple, Isa 60:13<\/span>; and of silver<\/I> and gold coming<\/I> into the temple, Jos 6:19<\/span>; and Jer 6:20<\/span>, Why doth incense come<\/I> to me? See Abp. Secker’s<\/I> notes. I cannot see how the words can apply to Jesus Christ, even if the construction were less embarrassed than it is; because I cannot see how he could be called THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. The whole seems to be a metaphorical description of the Church of Christ<\/I>, and of his filling it with all the excellences of the Gentile world, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in.<\/P> <\/p>\n I will shake all nations; <\/B>which was literally fulfilled in the overthrow of the Persian monarchy by the Grecians, in the civil wars and succeeding troubles among Alexanders successors, the growth of the Roman power by the subduing their neighbours, and their dissensions and homebred wars, all hushed by Augustus a little before Christs birth. These convulsions began a little after this prophecy, and continued long, in which the Jews, under the Maccabees, had their share. <\/P> The Desire of all nations shall come; <\/B>Christ, the most desirable, because the most helpful to all nations, which some proselytes in all ages did come to the knowledge of, and did earnestly desire; and who was desired by all that knew their own misery. and his sufficiency to save them, who was to be the light of the Gentiles as well as the glory of his people Israel. The Messiahs coming (the Jews do own) is foretold in this text, yet will they not see how this <\/P> yet a little while is long since past, <\/B>and the true Messiah long since come. <\/P> I will fill this house, <\/B>which you now build, this second temple. The first had a fulness of glory in its magnificent structure, rich ornaments, and costly sacrifices, but this was a worldly glory; that which is here promised is a heavenly glory from the presence of Christ in it. He that was the brightness of his Fathers glory, who is the glory of the church, appeareth in this second temple. <\/P> With glory, <\/B>of my presence, preaching, healing, and comforting, saith the Messiah, the King of glory, who entered these everlasting doors, Psa 24:7<\/span>,8<\/span>. This was before the desolation of this temple by the Romans, a demonstration that the Messiah should come whilst this second temple stood. But now the hardened Jew seeks to evade this text. <\/P> Saith the Lord of hosts:<\/B> this is a solemn sealing the certainty of the thing in this prophet, and Zechariah, and Malachi, who style him Lord of hosts near a hundred times. <\/P> <\/p>\n 7. shake<\/B>not convert;<\/I>but cause that agitation which is to precede Messiah’s coming as thehealer of the nations’ agitations. The previous shaking shall causethe yearning “desire<\/I>” for the Prince of peace. MOOREand others translate “the beauty,” or “the desirablethings (the precious gifts) of all nations shall come” (Isa 60:5<\/span>;Isa 60:11<\/span>; Isa 61:6<\/span>).He brings these objections to applying “the desire of allnations” to Messiah: (1) The Hebrew<\/I> means the quality,<\/I>not the thing<\/I> desired, namely, its desirableness<\/I> orbeauty, But the abstract is often put for the concrete. So “aman of desires,” that is, one desired<\/I> or desirable<\/I>(Dan 9:23<\/span>; Dan 10:11<\/span>,Margin;<\/I> Da 10:3<\/span>,Margin<\/I>). (2) Messiah was not desired by all nations, but “aroot out of a dry ground,” having “no beauty that we shoulddesire<\/I> Him” (Isa 53:2<\/span>).But what is implied is not that the nations definitely desired Him,<\/I>but that He was the only one to satisfy the yearning desires whichall felt unconsciously for a Saviour, shown in their painful ritesand bloody sacrifices. Moreover, while the Jews as a nation desiredHim not (to which people Isa 53:2<\/span>refers), the Gentiles, who are plainly pointed out by “allnations,” accepted Him; and so to them He was peculiarlydesirable. (3) The verb, “shall come,” is plural,<\/I>which requires the noun to be understood in the plural,<\/I>whereas if Messiah be intended, the noun is singular.<\/I> But whentwo nouns stand together, of which one is governed by the other, theverb agrees sometimes in number<\/I> with the latter, though itreally has the former as its nominative, that is, the Hebrew<\/I>“come” is made in number<\/I> to agree with “nations,”though really agreeing with “the desire.” Besides, Messiahmay be described as realizing in Himself at His coming “thedesires<\/I> (the noun expressing collectively the plural<\/I>) ofall nations”; whence the verb is plural.<\/I> So in So5:16<\/span>, “He is altogether lovely,” in the Hebrew<\/I>the same word as here, “all desires,<\/I>” that is,altogether desirable, or the object of desires. (4) Hag2:8<\/span>, “The silver is mine,” c. accords with thetranslation, “the choice things of all nations” shall bebrought in. But Hag 2:8<\/span>harmonizes quite as well with English Version<\/I> of Hag2:7<\/span>, as the note on eighth verse will show; see on Hag2:8<\/span>. (5) the Septuagint<\/I> and Syriac<\/I> versions agreewith MOORE’S translation.But Vulgate<\/I> confirms English Version.<\/I> So also earlyJewish Rabbis before JEROME’Stime. PLATO [Alcibiades,<\/I>2] shows the yearning of the Gentiles after a spiritual deliverer:”It is therefore necessary,” says Alcibiades on the subjectof acceptable worship, “to wait until One teach us how we oughtto behave towards the gods and men.” Alcibiades replies, “Whenshall that time arrive, and who shall that Teacher be? For most gladwould I be to see such a man.” The “good tidings of greatjoy” were “to all people” (Lu2:10<\/span>). The Jews, and those in the adjoining nations instructed bythem, looked for Shiloh<\/I> to come unto whom the gathering ofthe people was to be,<\/I> from Jacob’s prophecy (Ge49:10<\/span>). The early patriarchs, Job (Job 19:25-27<\/span>;Job 33:23-26<\/span>) and Abraham(Joh 8:56<\/span>), desired Him.<\/I><\/P> fill this house with glory<\/B>(Hag 2:9<\/span>). As the first templewas filled with the cloud of glory, the symbol of God (1Ki 8:11<\/span>;2Ch 5:14<\/span>), so this second templewas filled with the “glory” of God (Joh1:14<\/span>) veiled<\/I> in the flesh (as it were in the cloud) atChrist’s first coming, when He entered it and performed miraclesthere (Mt 21:12-14<\/span>);but that “glory” is to be revealed<\/I> at His secondcoming, as this prophecy in its ulterior reference foretells (Mal3:1<\/span>). The Jews before the destruction of Jerusalem all expectedMessiah would appear in the second temple. Since that time theyinvent various forced and false interpretations of such plainMessianic prophecies.<\/P><\/p>\n And I will shake all nations<\/strong>,…. By changing their governors, and forms of government; which was done by the Romans, when subdued by them; and by bringing in wars among them, which produced those changes; and by civil wars among the Romans themselves, in the several nations that belonged to them, which were notorious a little before the coming of Christ: or else this was to be done, and was done, by the preaching of the Gospel, both in Judea, and in the Gentile world, when all the inhabitants thereof were shaken by it, in one sense or another; some had their hearts and consciences shaken by the Spirit and grace of God through it, and were brought to embrace it, and profess it; yea, were brought to Christ, to yield obedience to him, his truths and ordinances; and others were moved with envy, wrath, and indignation at it, and rose up to oppose it, and stop the progress of it:<\/p>\n and the desire of all nations shall come<\/strong>; not the desirable things of all nations, or them with them, as their gold and silver; and which is the sense of Jarchi, Kimchi, and Aben Ezra; but this is contrary to the syntax of the words, to the context, Hag 2:8<\/span>, and to facts; and, if true, would not have given this temple a greater glory than Solomon’s: nor the elect of God, as others, brought in through the preaching of the Gospel; who are indeed the desire of God, he takes pleasure in them; and of Christ, whose delights have been always in them; and of the blessed Spirit, whose love to them, and esteem of them, are very manifest; and with the saints they are the excellent in the earth, in whom is all their delight: yet not they, but one far more glorious and excellent, is intended, even the Messiah, in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed; and who, so far as he was known by good men or proselytes among the Gentiles, was desired by them, as by Job, and others; and who, when he came, brought all good things with him; and has all blessings in him, that may make him desirable to men, being what they want; and though he is not in fact desired by all, yet of right he should be, and to all sensible sinners he is; even above all persons and things in the whole world; on account of his excellencies and glories; his mediatorial qualifications; his names, offices, and relations; the blessings of grace in him; the works done by him; his truths and ordinances, people, ways, and worship: and when it is said, he “shall come”, the meaning is, not only into the world by assumption of nature, to obtain redemption for his people; but into this temple now building, in that nature assumed; where he appeared at the presentation of him by his parents; and at the passover, when twelve years of age; and when he drove out the buyers and sellers from it; and when he often taught in it. The word “come” is in the plural number; and may denote his frequent coming thither, as well as in different respects; his personal coming; his spiritual coming; his coming to take vengeance on the Jews; and his last coming, of which some understand the words particularly:<\/p>\n and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts<\/strong>; alluding to the glory which filled the tabernacle of Moses, and the temple of Solomon, Ex 40:35<\/span> but that was but a shadowy glory, this a real one; here Christ appeared in person, who is the brightness of his Father’s glory; here his glorious doctrines were taught, and glorious miracles wrought; and the Spirit of glory rested on the disciples, in his gifts and grace bestowed upon them in an extraordinary manner, on the day of Pentecost.<\/p>\n (7) And the desire of all nations shall come<\/strong>.Better, and the precious things of all the nations shall come<\/em>scil.,<\/em> shall be brought as offerings. (Comp. Zep. 3:10<\/span>; Zec. 14:16<\/span>.) So apparently the LXX., .<\/em> The rendering of the Authorised Version, which is based on Jeromes et venit desideratus cunctis gentibus,<\/em> is grammatically impossible with the present text, for the verb come is plural, not singular. Its retention in some of the modern commentaries is mainly attributable to a natural unwillingness to give up a direct Messianic prophecy. Apart, however, from the grammatical difficulty, it must be remarked that the Messiah was not longed for by all nations, and that if He had been there would be no point in mentioning the fact in the present connection. On the other hand, the prediction of Gentile offerings to the Temple is most appropriate. It is the answer to those who sorrowed when they contrasted the mean appearance of this present house with the glories of that built by Solomon (Hag. 2:3<\/span>). It also explains the otherwise meaningless utterance in Hag. 2:8<\/span>. Another possible rendering is that adopted by Frst, and (at one time) by Ewald, And the pick of the nations shall come, scil.,<\/em> with offerings to the Temple. The significance of the utterance is the same with either translationscil.,<\/em> that by agencies not specified the Gentile world is to be converted and induced to offer worship and homage to Jehovah.<\/p>\n DISCOURSE: 1234 Hag 2:7<\/span>. The Desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts<\/em>.<\/p>\n MANKIND are apt to imagine that God is pleased with what is grand and magnificent in their eyes; hence the many splendid edifices that have been raised to his honour: but a contrite heart is a more acceptable residence for God than even the temple of Solomon itself [Note: Isa 66:1-2<\/span>.]. The Jews, on their return from Babylon, began to rebuild their temple; but they, who remembered the former temple, wept aloud [Note: Ezr 3:11-13<\/span>.]. To encourage them to complete the structure, the prophet was sent to declare, that, however inferior this<\/em> should be to the former in point of magnificence, it should exceed that<\/em> in glory; for that the Messiah himself should adorn it with his own personal appearance.<\/p>\n Let us inquire,<\/p>\n I.<\/p>\n Who is the person here spoken of<\/p>\n The prophet does not speak of desirable things<\/em>, as silver and gold [Note: Some, indeed, put that interpretation on the text: but it is not probable that such an event would be so solemnly introduced; or that such a fact ever took place in the degree supposed; or that, if it did, the glory of their temple could by such means be brought to exceed that of the former, considering how many things there were in the former, of which the latter was destitute.]. He refers to Christs advent, and appearance in the flesh. Christ is here properly called the Desire of all nations [Note: All nations indeed do not actually desire him, because they know him not: but they may be said to desire him, just as the whole creation is said to be waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, &c. Rom 8:19-21<\/span>. or, as Mount Zion is said to be the joy of the whole earth, Psa 48:2<\/span>.]<\/p>\n Many in all nations do desire him All nations, if they knew him, would desire him He did in due season honour the temple with his presence The prospect of this event was peculiarly consoling on account of,<\/p>\n II.<\/p>\n The consequences of his advent<\/p>\n The presence of Christ in the temple filled it with glory. It rendered the latter temple far more glorious than the former [Note: Hag 2:9<\/span>.].<\/p>\n He more than supplied all those things which were wanting in this temple<\/em><\/p>\n [Though many of the sacred vessels were restored to the Jews by Cyrus, there was much that was irrecoverably lost. The Shechinah<\/em>, the bright cloud, the symbol of the Deity, was withdrawn: the ark<\/em>, with all that it contained, was missing [Note: viz. a copy of the law, the pot of manna, and Aarons rod that budded.]: the urim and thummin<\/em>, or breast-plate, whereby the high-priest discovered the Divine will, was also gone: the fire<\/em>, that came down from heaven, was extinguished. These defects however were more than supplied to the latter temple by the presence of Jesus. Instead of a shadowy resemblance of the Deity, it had God incarnate: it had the true ark, containing infinitely richer memorials of Divine love [Note: The Jews no longer need the law to instruct them, the rod to confirm their faith, and the manna to shew them how their fathers were sustained: since Jesus himself possessed all that was necessary for their instruction, confirmation, and nourishment.]: it had a divine Instructor, who revealed all his Fathers counsels: nor could it need the fire to render the sacrifices more acceptable, since Jesus was about to offer one sacrifice for all. Thus did it excel in glory, even in those very particulars wherein it appeared most defective.]<\/p>\n He also exhibited in it a brighter display of the Deity than ever had been seen in the former temple<\/em><\/p>\n [The glory of God did indeed fill the temple of Solomon [Note: 1Ki 8:10-11<\/span>.], but in Christ it shone with brighter, though less dazzling splendour. Behold the condescension<\/em> of the Deity, in that he not merely dwelt with man, but became man! Behold the wisdom<\/em>, in every discourse that Jesus uttered [Note: Joh 7:46<\/span>.]! Behold the power<\/em>, in in his miraculous cures, and irresistible operation on the minds of men [Note: Mat 21:12<\/span>.]! Behold the grace<\/em>, in his treatment of the adulterous woman [Note: Joh 8:11<\/span>.]! Such an exhibition of the Divine perfections in the temple<\/em> far overbalanced every defect.]<\/p>\n Application<\/p>\n [Wherever Christ dwells, he imparts a glory. And has he not yet a temple to which he will come [Note: Mat 18:20<\/span>; Mat 28:20<\/span>.]? Will he not vouchsafe his presence in his ordinances? And will not his presence in them make them glorious [Note: Isa 60:7<\/span>; Isa 60:13<\/span>.]? Will he not also make the souls of his people his habitation [Note: 2Co 6:16<\/span>.]? And will not the soul, in which he takes up his residence, be transformed [Note: Isa 55:13<\/span>.]? Let him then be the desire of our hearts; nor let us ever be satisfied till we possess that privilege [Note: Eph 2:21-22<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.<\/p>\n Ver. 7. And I will shake all nations<\/strong> ] First, by the civil wars between the Triumviri, not long before Christ’s incarnation. Secondly, by the general tax, Luk 2:3<\/span> , when all went to be taxed every one into his own city. Thirdly, by the preaching and miracles of Christ and his apostles, whereby the nations were shaken out of their sinful condition, and brought to the obedience of faith by effectual conversion. Thus a Lapide. “I will shake all nations” with wonder at so great a mystery, with joy and with newness of life, saith Sa. The gospel (saith Forbes on Rev 14:6 ) hath three degrees of operation in the hearts of men. First, it falleth to men’s ears as the sound of many waters, a confused sound, which commonly bringeth neither terror nor joy; but yet a wondering and acknowledgment of a strange force, and more than human power, Mar 1:22-23 2Jn 1:7<\/span>2Jn 1:7<\/span>2Jn 1:7<\/span>2Jn 1:7<\/span> :46 . This may be in the reprobate, Act 13:41<\/span> . The second effect is the voice of thunder, which brings not only wonder, but fear. This may also be in a reprobate, as Felix. The third effect, proper to the elect, is the sound of harping; while the gospel not only ravisheth with admiration, and shaketh the conscience with terror, but also filleth it with sweet peace and joy. Certain it is, that the gospel maketh a stir where it cometh, and brings an earthquake to men’s souls, as it did to the jailer’s, Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
CHRIST THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n
[The Jews, by means of their captivities, or flight, were scattered through the Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian, and other empires, and since the establishment of Christianity there are Christians in every part of the globe. Amongst these, there is indeed found a considerable difference with respect to clearness of knowledge and fervour of affection; but the desire of them all accords with that of the Apostle [Note: Php 3:8-10<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n
[He has in himself all imaginable excellencies, as God, as man, as mediator. Would we desire a mighty<\/em> Saviour? he is God over all [Note: Rom 9:5<\/span>.]. Would we desire one in our own nature?<\/em> he was made flesh [Note: Joh 1:14<\/span>.]. Would we desire one that had testified his love?<\/em> he has died for us [Note: Eph 5:2<\/span>.]. Would we desire one that from his own experience might sympathize with us?<\/em> he has been tempted like us for this purpose [Note: Heb 4:15<\/span>; Heb 2:18<\/span>.]. If any hear of him, and desire him not, the reason is plain [Note: 2Co 4:4<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n
[The season of his appearance there was foretold [Note: He was to come while the temple was standing; Mal 3:1<\/span><\/u> and the text. About forty years after his death it was utterly demolished.]. At the appointed time he was brought thither by his parents [Note: Luk 2:27<\/span>.]: at twelve years old he sat there among the doctors [Note: Luk 2:46<\/span>.], and afterwards it became the frequent place of his resort.]<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n